AAP's assault video: three Delhi cops suspended

A grab from the video posted by the Aam Aadmi Party on their Facebook page hitting out at Delhi Police for 'assault, extortion'.

The Delhi Police on Friday suspended three of its officials after a video posted by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on its Facebook page showed them beating up and extorting money from a civilian.

"Just after the video was uploaded, the police came into action and three cops were suspended," Delhi Police spokesperson Rajan Bhagat said.

The incident comes close on the heels of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and his AAP staging a two-day protest against the police earlier this week.

The six-minute clipping, which got 12,442 'likes' by 7:40pm, showed two men in khaki uniform mercilessly thrashing a person with a stick, pulling out his wallet and taking money from it. Later, another man in khaki joins them.

"Delhi police is known to be brutal. Every now and then we hear of stories about Delhi police's brutality. Here is another such video," said the text accompanying the video.

The AAP post on Facebook did not mention why the man was subjected to such brutality. The text said the "video was shot by a vigilante near Lal Quila" on January 12.

The text accompanying the video added, "… will the home minister, under whom Delhi police comes, make sure that action is taken against these policemen?"

The AAP, which has formed the government in Delhi, had recently launched a demonstration against the police for not conducting a raid on an alleged drug and sex racket in south Delhi on the orders of law minister Somnath Bharti.

During the demonstration, the Arvind Kejriwal-led party also demanded the Delhi Police, controlled by the Union home ministry, be brought under the jurisdiction of the state government.

The protest was called off after two "erring" officials were sent on leave, but it led to an ugly war of words between the AAP and home minister Sushilkumar Shinde.

Kejriwal had challenged Shinde, saying, "Does the home minister want to fight with the Delhi government?" Shinde, in turn, had termed Kejriwal a "mad chief minister".